An Animal's Heart
by thelivingtunic
Summary: Sequel to Colourful Feelings. Almost five years later, Spinner and Octavia are still together. When Spinner takes her into a battle zone to show her what it's usually like, Octavia gets kidnapped by the Vandals. Now the Battle Force 5 has to save her.
1. Chapter 1

**Woosh! I'm back. I apoligize, I couldn't possibly make this any longer, simply because nothing was coming to me and I wanted to get this up. Also, I digressed from writing this to work on my Dr. Stein cosplay :D Anyway, here's the first chapter in _An Animal's Heart._ I just know the next chapter will be longer and easier to type :P**

* * *

Spinner Cortez was staring at a calendar in his and his little brother Sherman's room. He couldn't believe it had already been almost 5 years since he'd met his girlfriend Octavia. He was absolutely mad about her, and vice versa. Still, five years felt unbelievable to him. It had flown by.

The older Cortez brother reached over and grabbed a picture frame. He looked at the image; it was him and Octavia and her dad Nexus who had an arm around both of them. Spinner still remembered how Nexus had caught him kissing Octavia; after that he interfered with their relationship and treated Spinner like crap, until the spiky haired boy had had enough and stood up to Nexus. It apparently got him respect, and they'd been on good ground ever since.

The 22 year old rose from his messily made bed and left the room. As he went into the rec room, he was pulled straight into a hug by Octavia. Spinner hugged her back with a lopsided grin. Vert, Agura, Stanford, Zoom and Sherman were scattered around the rec room as well, grinning a little.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do? I know Stanford doesn't but come on, the rest of you guys have to have something!" Spinner whined.

"I do SO have better things to do!" Stanford exclaimed. "Considering I'm royalty and all."

"If Nexus were here he'd tell you to shut up with the royalty crap," The older Cortez brother retorted.

"Whatever; I'm not scared of him," the redhead commented, "I mean, he's turned into a total marshmallow." Just then everyone heard a door open, and they all knew who it was.

"Hello," Nexus greeted the battle force 5, and then kissed Octavia on the forehead. The team raised their hands as acknowledgement and then let them drop.

"Stanford said he wasn't afraid of you, and that you're a marshmallow," Zoom commented. Stanford glared at him.

"Don't tell HIM that!"

"He has a right to know!"

"You think I'm a marshmallow?" Nexus shouted. The redhead lifted himself off the couch and took off running, sliding past Nexus as he bolted out the door. The older man darted after him angrily, his skin and hair turning red.

"Run Stanford run!" Agura shouted mockingly, earning a laugh from everyone else.

"Oh shut it!" the royal redhead snapped as he ran past the door. A couple of seconds later Nexus raced by.

"His goose is cooked," Spinner said.

"He'll be lucky if he just gets tied to the ceiling from his feet," Octavia replied, "my dad can be so harsh."

* * *

A few hours later, the group was all watching a movie. Octavia sat beside Spinner, wrapped up in a blanket. Spinner had his arm around her. Nexus had fallen asleep about ten minutes into the film, and he was about to fall over onto the floor.

"I love you, Spin," Octavia muttered a little sleepily; she wasn't really into the movie they were all watching. The older Cortez brother grinned lopsidedly.

"I love you too," he replied, and the dark haired woman smiled as she cuddled into him. A few minutes later, she was comatose just like her father. After the movie, Spinner laughed lightly before picking Octavia up and carried her off to her room.

Octavia woke up the next morning with Spinner beside her. She smiled before peeling his arms away, and getting up. The dark haired woman rolled up and off her bed onto her feet, and she wandered out of the room. Octavia slowly shuffled off to the kitchen, where Nexus was currently stuffing his face with food. He looked up when his daughter entered, little bits and pieces of food caught in his beard. Octavia laughed.

"What's so funny?" Nexus asked, an eyebrow raising.

"You've got food stuck in your beard," his daughter explained. The bearded man started picking the food out of his mentioned beard. Octavia just smiled as she got some breakfast for herself.

Later, Octavia and Spinner were playing video games. Spinner won, of course.

"Haha, I win again!" he shouted excitedly. The dark haired woman crossed her arms, annoyed.

"You never even let me win!" she huffed.

"Of course not, that doesn't do you any good...You lose again!" he said, and he couldn't help but grin widely. Suddenly, Nexus popped up beside Spinner.

"You won! Nice!" Nexus commented, high fiving Spinner. Octavia just looked at her dad.

"Hey! I'm your daughter, don't say 'nice!' when I lose!" she shouted at him.

"Well you suck!" Nexus pointed out. The dark haired woman immediately turned red and threw the controller at her father, hitting him in the forehead. Octavia stood up and stomped off. Spinner looked at Nexus, and Nexus looked back at him.

When Octavia came back, the two were playing video games.

"Thanks for letting me stomp off," Octavia muttered. Spinner gave a little wave with one hand.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem," Spinner said, completely dismissing every word. Octavia frowned, and moved to stand in front of her boyfriend so he couldn't see the TV. The older Cortez brother gave a cry of protest as Nexus won.

"Hey! You're blocking my view!" Spinner protested.

"That's the point," Octavia replied, smirking.

"Move," the spiky haired guy whined. Octavia stayed where she was for a couple of minutes, before stepping out of the way. The dark haired woman rolled her eyes as Spinner and Nexus began a new game. She plopped herself down beside Spinner for a while.

* * *

Bigfoot was swimming in circles in his little glass bowl. It was a few hours later and Spinner was watching the goldfish.

"I think you should probably get a bigger tank for him" Octavia commented.

"I'm kinda amazed he's still alive!" Spinner admitted.

"Change the tank before he dies then!" she replied.

"Maybe later," the spiky haired guy shrugged. Nexus suddenly popped his head into the Cortez brothers' room.

"Its 9 pm," he stated, walking in, grabbing Octavia's wrist and dragging her out. For a man with a somewhat small amount of actual muscle, he was surprisingly strong sometimes.

"C'mon dad I'm not a teenager anymore...You can stop with the 9 pm rule now," Octavia complained.

"You two can sleep together when you get married...If you get married, but whatever," Nexus replied with a slight shrug. The black haired woman sighed; she knew she wouldn't be able to convince her father to let her sleep with Spinner. Octavia shuffled off to her own room, and Nexus headed off to where he usually slept, which was the couch.

* * *

**There you go. I'm sorry it's short (it feels too short to me) but honestly it was hard for me to even write this. Nothing was coming to me, so I figure this was better than nothing :/ if you guys review, I'll probably get back to thinking through the story for this and therefore the next chapters will come up sooner. **

**Nexus is now officially put on comic relief duty. You'll see why in a few more chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, back again. This was easier to write than the first chapter :D and I'm weird but I love how I started this chapter XD Also, I fear I'm making Nexus too much of a major character even though he is an important character...What I'm trying to get at is that to me, in the first chapter and some of this one, I feel like Nexus seems more important, or more talked about, than Octavia! Anyway, I'mma gonna let you guys enjoy the chapter now!**

* * *

Octavia giggled lightly. Her father was more than half off the couch, his pillow and head resting on the floor. His body was stretched out awkwardly, his knees digging into the couch and his ass in the air. The black haired woman never wondered how her father got himself into the weirdest positions when he was asleep; she just knew he'd growl and complain about the blood rushing to his upper body when he wound up in a position like this one. Octavia jumped slightly when she felt an arm slip around her shoulders, but she relaxed when she realized it was just Spinner. She looked at him before kissing him on the cheek. Spinner grinned before kissing her back.

"I see Nexus is gonna be numb again," The older Cortez brother chuckled. Octavia nodded, smiling. Nexus shifted once; but then he wrapped his arms around his pillow before settling again.

"Maybe we should wake him up," his daughter commented. Spinner shrugged. Octavia reached out with her foot and nudged Nexus gently. He snorted, frowned, but stayed asleep. She nudged him once more, but still he didn't wake up. "Desperate times call for desperate measures," Octavia stated, pulling out a filled balloon. She dropped it on her father's head before jumping back, avoiding the contents of the balloon which had been pancake batter.

Nexus jumped up immediately with a roar, completely wide awake. However, since there'd been no real blood flow to his legs or waist the bearded man collapsed just as fast as he'd jumped up.

"Who did that?" he growled out, wiping pancake batter out of his face. Spinner and Octavia quickly turned to point at the person entering the room: Stanford.

"Stanford did it!" the two shouted in unison. Nexus' eye twitched once as his skin and hair turned deep red.

"I did nothing!" the redhead protested. The bearded man glared at him and tried to crawl over to Stanford, though he yelped in pain at the feeling of his legs being "asleep". Stanford took advantage of Nexus' pain and left the room quickly.

Nexus was practically hunting Stanford down a few hours later. He growled to himself, grinding his teeth as he failed to find the redhead. Spinner and Octavia were playing video games while enjoying Nexus' failing Stanford hunt.

"Hey Spinner," Octavia piped up after a round of the game.

"What?" the spiky haired guy asked.

"I was wondering what a battle zone was like...I know you guys found me in one, but you keep telling me about all these zones that sound like they're really weird looking," the black haired woman answered.

"I've told you about a bunch of them already...Oh! Maybe I could take you with us next time we go into one so you can see more of what it's like!" Spinner exclaimed.

* * *

Later, Spinner ran the idea past the team. They all decided it would be fine, though Nexus didn't like the idea too much. He let it lie however as the alarm went off. The group ran off to suit up and then they popped into their vehicles and headed out.

"Sorry you have to ride with Stanford," Spinner said to Octavia over the com link.

"No, it's alright," she replied, though she was giving the redhead the evil eye. Stanford glared at her once before flipping her the bird. The next thing that was heard over the com link was Stanford's girly screams.

"What's going on guys?" Vert asked.

"Spinner, your batty girlfriend is trying to break my fingers!" Stanford shouted in alarm.

"He flipped me the bird, Spin!" Octavia growled out.

"Don't break Stanford's fingers, and Stanford, don't flip her the bird," Vert scolded the two simultaneously. Octavia stopped trying to break Stanford's fingers and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away from the redhead.

"You are your father's daughter all right," the redhead spat.

"What do you mean by that?" Octavia hissed.

"Guys stop trying to kill each other," the rest of the team told them.

* * *

There were no more incidents before they entered the battle zone. The battle zone was thin trails of rock over pits of magma and electrified water. Dark storm clouds rumbled overhead. Octavia stared out the window of the Reverb, amazed.

"Guys, I found the battle key," Agura announced a short time later. Hatch immediately shot by and grabbed the key. Agura drove after him as Kalus, Sever and Krocomodo made their presences known to the rest of the team. Krocomodo slammed into the side of the Reverb, almost sending the purple car off the edge of the trail of rock.

"Can you drive any crappier?" Octavia asked. Stanford glared at her.

"Get out of my Reverb," he stated.

"What?" the black haired woman blinked, not completely sure he was really saying what he was saying.

"I said get out. I won't take your rude remarks in my precious Reverb," Stanford replied, opening the top of the Reverb. Octavia sat and stared at him, until the redhead actually lifted her up and out of his car, dropping her on the ground. He put the top down again and drove off to fight the Vandals. The black haired woman flipped the retreating purple car the bird, and then stood up. She realized she couldn't see the Saber, Chopper, Tangler or the Buster tank.

"Oh my god..." she muttered, unsure of what she should do. Knowing that standing there wouldn't help her situation, she headed off in the direction the Reverb went in, praying she didn't get run over by any of the multiple vehicles.

The Cortez brothers sent Sever crashing into Hatch as Agura snatched the battle key. Zoom swerved to avoid one of Kalus' bolts. Stanford blasted Krocomodo away. Kalus growled angrily; it looked like the battle force 5 was going to get away with yet another battle key. That's when he noticed, however, the black haired woman who was moving towards the battle cautiously. He smirked to himself; the sub-creatures wouldn't get out of the battle zone without some kind of loss. This meant that in one way at least, the Vandals would be victorious and any victory would be a good one. However, Kalus and the Vandals weren't the only ones to notice Octavia.

"Stanford! What's Octavia doing out of the Reverb?" Spinner shouted angrily.

"I kicked her out!" Stanford replied.

"Why would you kick her out?" the older Cortez brother yelled louder than before, hitting an anger level that none of the team had ever seen him reach; indeed, the only time any of them had gotten quite that angry had been the time Sherman had flipped when Spinner had gotten kidnapped by Zemerik.

"She was mouthing off!" the redhead defended; he was Stanford Isaac Rhodes the IV. Even when he did something completely idiotic, he usually didn't admit it was stupid, and he didn't believe that kicking Spinner's girlfriend out of his car had been a stupid thing to do.

"You shouldn't have kicked her out, you moron!" Spinner roared. Sherman turned to look at his older brother with slight concern.

"Calm down big bro. It's not that bad; look, she's perfectly—" Sherman started, but he didn't have time to finish his sentence before Kalus rocketed forward and roughly pulled Octavia into the Fangore. The black haired woman struggled against the lion Vandal's grip, but to no avail. Her resistance earned her a slap across the face, and after that she didn't struggle.

"Octavia!" Spinner screamed as the Vandals retreated to their homeworld. The older Cortez brother felt like he couldn't breathe; he watched the portal close but couldn't wholly register it. As Sherman turned to look at his big brother, Spinner's hands went up to cover his face. Everyone's throats tightened as the spiky haired guy screamed as loud as he could. Octavia was gone.

* * *

**Oh shitz, Octavia's gotten kidnapped! I'm sorry if Stanford comes off as more douchey than he usually seems (I'm going to take advantage of my T rating and use some strong language, but not too much, just a little thing here and there and it's usually an appropriate place in the story where I use it) but Octavia and Stanford have nothing between them but absolute hatred. I guess that goes for Nexus and Stanford too :P Anyway..Peace out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, here's Chapter 3 :D It was pretty easy to write, much easier than chapter 1...I ran into a little trouble closer to the end, but oh well! Sorry for a bit of OOC-ness on Spinner's part XP**

**Disclaimer: I only own Octavia, Nexus, and my two new Vandal oc's who show up in this chapter :P**

* * *

When the battle force 5 got back to the Hub, Spinner was silent. He went off without a word, not looking at anyone, not even Sherman. Not like he really saw them anyway; his head was swimming and nothing felt real anymore. The only thing he knew was real was the pain he felt because of Octavia's loss. He went straight to his room. He thought maybe Nexus tried to talk to him on the way; of course, if he had, Spinner had ignored him completely. He slammed the door once he was in his and Sherman's room. The spiky haired guy collapsed on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. His thoughts were going nuts inside his head; he wasn't quite sure to blame. At first he thought to blame himself for taking her into the battle zone in the first place. Then Stanford was the next obvious person to blame; he should never have kicked her out of his god damn Reverb. Spinner almost felt like taking a pipe and smashing the piece of shit that was Stanford's car. However, his thoughts spun again and he blamed the Vandals, the only ones who really deserved it. The older Cortez brother sat up, feeling slightly weird.

"Damn the Vandals! Damn Stanford!" he shouted, throwing anything and everything he could get his hands on as he went into a fit of rage. The only thing that he didn't throw was Bigfoot's tank, and the poor goldfish was glad. The spiky haired guy shook, breathing hard. He slunk to the floor; misery was overcoming him again. He was both surprised and angry when the door opened.

"Look...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kicked her out of the Reverb..." Stanford stumbled to apologize, something he had trouble with since he didn't do it too often. Spinner completely ignored the fact that that was as close as he was going to get from Stanford that the redhead had been stupid; he ignored the sincerity of the apology.

"GET OUT!" the shorter male roared, jumping to his feet. Stanford screamed, slamming the door shut before turning and booking it down the hall. Spinner heard him go, but he didn't care.

Spinner must have fallen asleep, because it was several hours later when the door opened again.

"Stanford, I don't want to hear your stupid apology!" he growled, but falling asleep had caused him to calm down somewhat.

"Spinner...I know how you feel," Nexus said quietly, entering the room and shutting the door again. The bearded man sat down on the younger's bed.

"Nexus...I want to be alone," the spiky haired guy said.

"I wanted to be by myself for the longest time after my wife died. I had to snap out of it because it wasn't good for me, and Octavia needed me. This isn't good for you either Spinner; don't let your emotions control you. Octavia still needs you, now more than ever, I think," Nexus told the older Cortez brother.

"It's so hard..." Spinner whined pitifully.

"I know. We can get her back though, and we'll open up a huge can of kick-ass on those damn Vandals for taking her," the bearded man replied. Spinner looked at him.

"They won't even know what hit them," he said determinedly, forcing a smile.

"They won't even know which way we hit them from," Nexus retorted.

Everyone was surprised to see Spinner join them that evening; true, he still felt like crap. Nothing would change that except getting Octavia back, but that was just a matter of time. After the talk he and Nexus had, he felt slightly better. Spinner knew Nexus was right about being by himself wouldn't be good for him, so he decided that being around the others might be a good idea. However, he still wanted to punch Stanford in the face; he knew Nexus did too, for kicking his daughter out of the Reverb.

Nexus glared at the redhead before his skin and hair turned red. "How dare you kick my daughter out of your purple piece of crap!" he shouted, causing Stanford to jump up and bolt out of the room. The bearded man followed him, determined to kick the redhead's royal ass. Spinner grinned a little; the thought of Stanford getting beaten up made him feel just a little better. Still, he barely said a word at all that evening, and the rest of the team worried about him.

* * *

Octavia woke up on hard earth in a hut. Her feet were chained to the wall, though she had a little moving space.

"Where am...Oh," she said to herself, remembering what had happened. She wrapped her arms around herself, thinking of Spinner. She also wondered how her father had taken the news; probably not well, she figured. The dark haired girl was snapped out of her thoughts when a Vandal moved to stand in front of her.

"I see your awake, sub-creature," Kalus sneered. Octavia shook her head, but said nothing. The Vandal warlord watched her a few minutes; he turned with a growl, and exited the hut. Octavia just sighed.

"Hey, she's awake!" a much younger voice chirped. The dark haired girl looked up to see a tiny snow leopard Vandal looking at her. The snow leopard had shimmering baby blue eyes, and her fur was kept clean and smooth. She wore a slightly tattered dress.

"Oh who cares," another young Vandal snapped. This one was a lion Vandal, with paler streaks of fur mixing into his bright coat. He had chestnut eyes, and his fur was matted with mud in some places. He wore leather pants and a scowl on his face. "Sub-creatures are stupid, useless, and totally inferior!" he growled out.

"This one looks nice," the snow leopard girl piped up. She turned to Octavia. "What's your name?"

"My name's Octavia," Octavia answered.

"Oh, my name's Vraela," the snow leopard girl introduced herself. "This is my brother, Cain," she added, pointing to the other young Vandal.

"Don't tell this sub-creature my name!" Cain spat. Vraela glared at him.

"She told us her name; it's only fair that I told her ours!" the Vandal girl retorted. Cain rolled his eyes, walking off to sit by the far wall of the hut. Vraela turned her back to her brother, and looked at Octavia. "Where do you come from?" she asked.

"I've been living on a planet called Earth for the past couple of years, but before that I came from somewhere else," the dark haired human answered.

"How'd you get here?" the snow leopard Vandal asked.

"Well, my boyfriend brought me into this...battle zone...Then Kalus caught me," Octavia explained. The young Vandal's ears perked up.

"Kalus?" she asked curiously.

"Yes; why?" Octavia wondered.

"Kalus is my father," Vraela answered. Octavia's eyes widened.

"OUR father," Cain snapped, walking back over. Vraela just rolled her eyes at her brother. The dark haired girl couldn't believe it; the offspring of the Vandal warlord were right here in front of her. She guessed Vraela took after her mother; she didn't seem much like Kalus whatsoever. There was no doubt which of their parents Cain was like.

"What's your father like?" Vraela asked. Octavia thought about Nexus; she didn't really know how to describe him.

"He's...Very emotional, like he wears his heart on his sleeve. He's funny, and he's kind of weird...But he's a great dad," Octavia replied, trying to sum Nexus up.

"I wish our dad was like that, but he's too busy being the Vandal warlord..." Vraela said, her voice wavering slightly.

"I'm glad our dad's the Vandal warlord. Everyone in the village has to respect us," Cain boasted, puffing his chest out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kalus was talking with Hatch.

"Captain Kalus, I think I might have an idea of what to do with that sub-creature," Hatch hissed, not unpleased.

"What's your idea, Hatch?" Kalus asked, curious.

"My idea is to use her against her pathetic friends...By turning her into a Vandal."

* * *

**And so it begins! BWAHAHAHAHA *cough* *cough* so, the plot is starting to reveal itself...You readers are probably still wondering why one of the characters I chose as mains is Zemerik, though...You'll find out later! Don't forget to hit that review button down there!**


	4. Chapter 4

**After over a MONTH, I'm finally updating! I had half of this floating around for a LONG while, but I just told myself to suck it up and finish! Sorry for the wait, loyal readers...I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D I myself love it :3**

* * *

Octavia didn't know when she fell asleep, but when she woke up she wasn't in the hut anymore. From what she could see, she was now in a lab. Her limbs were tied to the ground. The dark haired woman struggled, trying to escape.

"None of that now," Hatch hissed, peering down at her. Sever gnashed his jaws hungrily, and it was fairly obvious what threat he was giving. Octavia turned pure white.

"Let's get this experiment over with," Kalus growled out. Krocomodo and Sever nodded in agreement; they wanted to see what kind of Vandal this sub-creature would become. Octavia thrashed against her bindings, more eager to escape. She didn't know what they meant by 'experiment', and she didn't want to find out any time soon. Kalus kicked her swiftly in the side, drawing a yelp out of the dark haired human. Hatch chuckled as he started the experiment...

* * *

Spinner was still quiet and depressed. Nexus tried to cheer him up by playing video games with him; Spinner just let him win. His enthusiasm seemed to be gone.

"Spin, come on. We're gonna get her back and she's gonna be fine," the older man told him, exasperated. The spiky haired guy just shrugged. Nexus shook his head and sighed as he watched Spinner shuffle away. Nexus headed off to where the rest of the group were just hanging.

"I wish he'd cheer up," Sherman said, concerned. The others nodded. Just then, the alarm went off. The team ran off to suit up. Nexus decided to go with them this time.

* * *

Somehow the storm shock connected to the alternate dimension again.

"We're back here again...Really?" Spinner half shouted.

"Apparently we are, big bro," Sherman answered.

"Let's get outta here before we meet up with our negative selves," Vert said over the com link. As they began to look for a way out, they heard a very familiar growl.

"Freeze, sub-creatures," Kalus, the normal Kalus, almost roared. Sever, Hatch and Krocomodo drove up slightly behind him.

"Kalus," Vert said seriously. The battle force 5, plus Nexus, all jumped at least slightly when they heard the loud screech.

"What was that?" Spinner asked fearfully.

His question was answered after a few seconds. Dropping down closer to Krocomodo's vehicle was a large bat Vandal. Its fur was deep black, and its eyes shone. A large metal collar hung around its neck, and a metal chain hung down. It wore leather pants that were torn in a few places, and its black fur popped out in several places along the seams. It was about 5 feet tall, and its wingspan was huge. It hovered in one spot, staring at the battle force 5 and Nexus.

Suddenly the bat Vandal let out a hiss as it looked past the battle force 5. Everyone turned to look at what it saw, and the battle force 5 groaned to themselves. The negative battle force 5 was headed straight towards them, except there was another dark motorcycle with them.

"Oh, like, ew! The goody goodies are like, totally back," Negative Agura hissed.

"Hmm, don't let those losers make you angry. Anger doesn't look good on you," Negative Nexus purred, causing his good counterpart to visibly shudder in disgust.

"Will you ever just get lost, disgusting father?" Negative Octavia snapped from where she was seated, inside the negative Reverb.

"Don't hate me, baby girl. You should love me. You know I love you," Negative Nexus gently replied.

"You don't love me the way you should, sicko," Negative Octavia growled. The whole time the two negatives were talking, Nexus had slowly turned whitish-green.

"Okay, numbskulls, let's bash the goody two shoes, and you can argue later," Negatie Vert commanded. Negative Nexus just grinned excitedly as the fight started. As a vehicle smashed into Krocomodo, the bat Vandal flew higher into the air, startled. She was already discombobulated, and seeing two of almost every vehicle definitely did not help. She flew around the battle, jerking upwards higher into the air when she could possibly be hit. When one of the two Nexus' were knocked off their bike, the bat Vandal swooped downwards, claws outstretched.

Nexus screamed as the bat Vandal swooped. He writhed under his bike, trying to get out from under it, but he was trapped quite firmly. Negative Nexus laughed hysterically as the claws got ever closer to his good counterpart's face. Suddenly, the claws were pulled back and the bat passed over normal Nexus safely. Upon realizing the bat hadn't torn his face off with her claws, Nexus fainted. Negative Nexus hopped off his bike and pulled out a dagger as he walked over to his fainted counterpart. The blade shone as wickedly as Negative Nexus' smile as he prepared to stab normal Nexus. However, a large dark shadow rolled over him, and the Negative looked upwards. He stared straight into the Vandal's face, before his claws closed around his arms. He screamed as the bat launched herself into the air, smirking at Negative Nexus' terror. She dropped him shortly, letting him hit the ground hard. The bat Vandal flew back to where Nexus was trapped under his bike. She landed and began to pull the bike away.

The bat Vandal hissed loudly and painfully as the Cortez brothers hit her with one of the maces, thinking she was attacking Nexus instead of helping. She pushed off into the air, ignoring the gash on her back. The Negative Cortez brothers both grinned as they slammed their vehicle into their good counterparts' from the side. With the speed and force the two negatives had used, the normal Cortez brothers were surprised to feel the unusual experience of the Buster Tank somehow being knocked off balance.

"Ah, Sherm?"

"What, Spinner?"

"We shouldn't be tipping over, should we?"

"No. No, we shouldn't be"

"Then why are we?" Spinner asked fearfully. With another "helpful" shot from their negatives, the Buster Tank was completely knocked onto its side. The older Cortez yelped as he was thrown against the hatch at the top of the Tank, and as it opened he rolled out. "Sherman? Little bro?" Spinner called; but Sherman had hit his head as they tipped over, and he was unconscious.

Suddenly, the bat Vandal swooped. She dropped through the air at an alarming rate, and snatched the older Cortez brother up in her claws. The spiky haired male screamed loudly and shrilly, alarmed. However, a confused look spread over his face as he saw sound blasts go right over where Spinner had been. 'It saved me, but why?' he wondered to himself. He kept quiet, though, as the bat Vandal flew away with him. The ground blurred by, and the older Cortez brother wondered how fast the bat Vandal was actually flying. Rocky landscape soon gave way to a cliff, and the bat dived downwards.

Spinner screamed, closing his eyes and flinging his arms up over his face. He waited for the pressure of slamming into the ground, but it never came. He lowered his arms, opened his eyes, and saw that the bat had turned out of the dive before they'd hit. Now trees were passing by below them, and a couple of branches actually hit his feet. He pulled his feet up, though the bat rose a bit higher. The spiky haired male looked up at the Vandal curiously. He studied the pointed nose, the mouth that curved slightly upwards, and the odd dark tufts that stuck out rather awkwardly around her eyes. Spinner also took a long look at the metal collar and chain; the chain had been broken at some point. The collar seemed to have been a way to hold the bat Vandal, as if it had been unwilling to work with Kalus.

'That doesn't make much sense,' Spinner thought to himself. 'All Vandals serve Kalus. Even if they want to overthrow him, they don't seem to be forced into obedience. This, though...This looks very forced.'

* * *

The blazing red sun of the battlezone was sinking as the bat landed. She touched down on a rocky peak, higher than any of the surrounding trees. The bat Vandal was careful to avoid harming Spinner, and let him go as soon as she tucked her wings to her. He crawled a bit of a distance away, rose to his feet, and dusted himself off. The bat Vandal simply stared at him, a tad awkwardly.

"Hey...cut it out...Please!" Spinner added hurriedly, not wanting to be eaten. The large mammal turned away from him, trudging awkwardly off into a cave. The spiky haired guy watched it pull itself to the roof of the cave, and then the bat dropped upside down. 'Odd behaviour for something that's supposed to be nocturnal...' Spinner noted. He shrugged before turning to look for firewood. From the cave, the bat watched his every movement; she'd gone into the cave so she wouldn't raise his suspicions again. Spinner soon had a bright fire burning, and he sat close to it, glad for the light and heat. He looked over his shoulder a couple of times towards the cave; he didn't trust the bat Vandal, but there was something just a little bit odd about it.

* * *

**So, there ya go! :D I hope you like it...I keep referring to the bat as 'her' and 'it', mostly because it's a female, but the BF5 don't actually know this. Anyway, Spinner's been kidnapped! How will he get home? Find out after a couple of filler chapters :3**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh snap, I'm back again. Sorry for the delay, I've been working on this for a while now and I intended to get it done before now. I like it though. Well I gotta say, there's an issue not everyone is going to want to really deal with in the end of this chapter. It wasn't even supposed to be there, but it came to me and I sort of liked where I could go with it. This chapter is chalk full of surprises, that's for sure. Enjoy! **

* * *

"The next time I see that bat, I'm going to rip the wings off it!" Sherman growled, rubbing his temples. It was quite obvious he was angry about losing Spinner; it reminded everyone of the time the older Cortez brother had been kidnapped by Zemerik, and they were quite wary of Sherman at this moment.

"Come on, Sherman, cheer up," Agura offered. The younger Cortez brother gave a dark glance in her direction, and Agura didn't say anything else.

"You and your brother get too depressed over things," Nexus stated, sitting on the couch with his head tilted back, running a hand through his hair.

"What happened to your temper...Old man," Sherman asked, trying to provoke the bearded man.

"I AM NOT OLD!" Nexus roared, leaping to his feet in a matter of milliseconds. He was a deep crimson colour, and anger almost seemed to radiate from him. Stanford slid away reflexively; whenever Nexus was angry nowadays, the royal pain was usually on the receiving end. The bearded man moved to punch Sherman; but the younger male caught the fist and threw the older man away. Nexus grunted as he smacked into the wall; perhaps he WAS getting slightly old, especially for roughhousing like that. Zoom pulled Nexus to his feet before the bearded man yanked his arm away.

"Sheesh..." Zoom muttered, stepping away from Nexus.

"Like I said...Old," Sherman commented, rising from where he was sitting. Nexus flew at him again, anger overtaking him and not letting him think straight; he would otherwise know that a fight with Sherman would not end well on his part. The younger Cortez brother's hand balled up into a fist. He slammed it straight into Nexus' gut, sending the 42 year old crashing back into the wall with a sharp pained cry. The Battle force 5 stared in shock as Nexus' arms wrapped around his gut, and he doubled over.

"Sherman, calm down," Vert spoke up. "There's no need for violence here," he continued when the younger Cortez remained silent.

"What...What's wrong with me?" Sherman asked after several moments. "If Spinner were here, he'd freak at me for hurting Nexus..." he added. Agura put a hand on her teammate's shoulder.

"Everyone copes with grief differently," she said gently. He looked at her, and reluctantly nodded once. Sherman looked over at Nexus where he was still huddled on the floor, and he flinched. The tall guy turned and walked off to his room to think. Nexus rose to his feet slowly, with his hand on the wall for support. Zoom moved to help him again, but he pushed past him, half stumbling away. The group was left standing awkwardly.

* * *

When Spinner woke up, the sun was already burning high in the sky. He yawned, but paused when he felt something furry and warm beside him. The older Cortez brother flailed under the bat Vandal's wing, which was covering him, as he remembered the events of the previous day. The Vandal opened one lazy eye at him, curious about the racket. She peeled her wing away, and let him hop a few feet away. Spinner sat himself down in the sunlight, flinching a little since the rock beneath him was already hot. He didn't move though, and he simply watched the bat as it closed its eye. He stayed there until he was totally sure it was fast asleep. Rising to his feet, he walked around the rock ledge they were on; it only took him about 20 or 30 minutes to walk around the whole thing.

"I wouldn't wanna fall off this thing," he gulped, peering down into the treetops and realizing exactly how high up he actually was. The next thing he realized was that there was nothing to actually do on the ledge, and he grumbled to himself for a bit. Spinner ended up going back to the cave; it was too hot for him to stay outside any longer. He was actually surprised; though the homeworld of the negative Battle Force 5 had seemed desolate and barren both times he'd been there, this area seemed to be totally left alone. The spiky haired guy frowned as he realized that this area couldn't have been left like this without a very good reason.

The bat stirred when Spinner entered the cave. He hesitated, but decided that even though he didn't trust the bat Vandal, being in the cave with it would be better than being outside where something could potentially eat him. He tried not to think about the bat being big enough for it to be able to eat him.

"Sp'nah," the bat Vandal rasped out roughly. Spinner jumped; he hadn't been paying attention and even if he had, he wouldn't have expected it to speak. He eyed it warily. "Sp'nah," she repeated, hopping over to him with a wriggle. The bat grinned lopsidedly when Spinner decided to stand his ground. She hopped forward again, a little quicker. "Sp'nah, Sp'nah!" she hissed loudly. Spinner was confused; it seemed like she was trying to say something to him, yet all she could say was that one 'Sp'nah' word? Was it trying to say 'Spinner'? The older Cortez brother shook his head to dismiss that thought, but something else nagged at him. Every other Vandal he'd ever seen could speak perfectly, so why was this one verbally challenged?

"Sp'nah...Lao ah," it gurgled. Spinner raised an eyebrow at it, confused, before the bat frowned and turned away with a hiss. The spiky haired male froze, afraid he'd made the Vandal angry. It took him a few minutes to realize it was angry at itself. 'Maybe it's mad because of the lack of communication?' the older Cortez brother thought to himself.

"Hey...It's okay," his voice wavered a bit. The bat suddenly looked up at him with wide, violet eyes that looked just a little bit familiar. 'Where have I seen those eyes? This is so weird' Spinner thought.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Spinner stayed in the cave, out of the sun, and the bat kept her distance. The older Cortez brother grew comfortable in its presence, knowing it could have and probably would have attacked him already if it had any intention of harming him. When the sky turned dark with the arrival of the night Spinner rose to his feet and slunk out of the cave cautiously. Though the ledge was the highest thing around, he was nervous and the lack of any source of light didn't help. He soon lit a fire and was relaxing by it when he heard a faint yet strange noise. It sounded a bit like sharp claws on hard rock. Spinner gulped and looked around nervously. He froze when the noise came again, and then again. About ten minutes after the last noise, the spiky haired guy stood, and carefully handling a burning piece of wood, walked over to where the noise had come from. He peeked out over the edge, but didn't see a thing.

In seconds, a huge jaguar was jumping up and onto the ledge, hissing viciously at Spinner. He stumbled back, trying to keep the flames on the wood in front of him. The older Cortez brother was horrified; the jaguar was at least twice as big as they were on earth, and he got the idea it was a lot more bloodthirsty. He tried to scream, make any sort of noise, but his throat seemed to have tightened in fear and noise was practically impossible. The jaguar approached slowly forward as it eyed the fire. It licked its lips; if it could get its prey to walk blindly backwards into those flames, it figured its meal could become much better.

Spinner backed away from the huge beast until he tripped over a stray branch for the fire. He yelped loudly, surprised even by the noise, and the jaguar pounced. Spinner squeezed his eyes shut tightly, preparing to become giant cat food and hoping it would all be over soon. Suddenly a loud screech rent the air, and the jaguar's teeth or claws never pierced Spinner. He opened his eyes, startled and confused. The bat had attacked the jaguar while it had been in the air, and sent it rolling. The beast hissed in frustration and leapt to its paws. The bat flapped upwards to dodge the cat's next pounce, and dropped down onto its back. The bat pushed the jaguar back several times, driving it closer to the edge of the rock. The large cat swiped a couple of times, but the Vandal avoided the claws. The bat made one last forward lunge, its claws digging into the jaguar's hide, and pushed the cat off the rock. Spinner gasped as the bat dropped below the line of sight as well, though he made no move to check the edge.

He waited a few minutes before the large form of the bat Vandal sprang up onto the rock. Spinner breathed a sigh of relief, before his eyes noticed a gash on the large mammal's forearm.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He didn't approach, in fear of the animal attacking because of the pain.

"Sp'nah," the bat answered roughly. The two fell silent as they moved back towards the cave. Spinner had no problems with cuddling up to the bat this time.

* * *

The contents of the bottle slid down the man's throat easily, burning a little. His head swam dizzyingly. A few small drops of the alcohol dribbled down the corners of his mouth. He could barely remember entering the bar, let alone anything that had happened that day. Heck, the man couldn't remember how much he'd had to drink. He thought he vaguely remembered feeling someone's lips on his cheek and neck, but it didn't matter. He had shrugged them off; he could care less about any of that.

The man rose to his feet, swaying from one side to the other noticeably. He wobbled out of the bar, already knowing he couldn't hope to drive and he shouldn't get on the motorcycle he had arrived on. Clumsy fingers fumbled for a cell phone and once he'd dug it out he simply stared at it. He shoved it back in his pocket before digging out his keys. It would be only once. The man plopped himself down on his bike kind of awkwardly, and took a few minutes to get the keys in the ignition. He almost flinched when the vehicle beneath him roared to life.

The motorcycle teetered from side to side as he drove. Besides the hum of the bike, the night was silent. If he wasn't as drunk as he was, the man would probably be freaked out by the lack of noise. Then again, if he wasn't drunk he wouldn't be out there. He slowly became aware of headlights behind him, and he pulled over, albeit with a few jerks into the center of the road. The car stopped as well, and the driver's door opened and shut. Sheriff Johnson scowled angrily at the obviously drunk man on the motorcycle.

* * *

Vert was woken up by the phone ringing obnoxiously. He grabbed it groggily. "Hello?"

"Wheeler!" Johnson's voice boomed furiously through the phone. "I picked up a friend of yours! Drunk driving, I thought you all knew better!"

Vert couldn't speak. He'd never thought any of his friends would drink and drive; they knew how idiotic it was. As Johnson hung up, the thing that nagged Vert was the thought that was wondering who had been picked up.

* * *

**Well there you go. I hope you liked it, don't forget to review, because I like reviews :D They also inspire me to write :3 Just so you know, I'M TOTALLY AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING! I decided I should put that in case anyone tries to fight with me over it. Try to guess who the drunk driver is :P**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back! Longest chapter to date (and probably going to be the second longest chapter, if it's not the longest) It took me a bit to get the ending just right. Enjoy!**

* * *

Vert and the rest of the Battle Force 5 stood in the police station, staring down at the man Sheriff Johnson had brought in the night before. His eyelids were half closed, dark circles sat under his eyes, and he overall appeared to have had a rough night. He was sitting with his back against the wall, and he stared at the spot between his feet, not looking up.

"Why?" Vert asked him. The man on the floor raised his head slightly, scruffy hair falling into his eyes. Sherman was shaken; he'd never seen the man look so broken. Sherman never even thought he could ever look that way.

"I didn't know what to do," Nexus mumbled. "She's been missing so long I'm losing my mind. I've never been without my daughter like this before. When her mother died...Well at least I had Octavia. Now I've got nothing," he croaked, tears spilling down his cheeks. He dropped his head, pressing the palm of one hand to his eye to try to stop crying. Vert and the rest of the team felt their throats constrict. Even Stanford, who typically strongly disliked the older man, thought that seeing what Nexus was reduced to was painful.

"You can't find the answers to your problems at the bottom of a bottle of alcohol," Agura said, not unkindly.

"I know...I just wanted to forget for a while," Nexus sniffled. He tried to push himself up off the floor, and Vert and Zoom grabbed his forearms. They pulled him to his feet. Nexus looked straight at Vert. "You're gonna get her back soon, right? Please..." he whimpered.

"Trust me, we're going to get her back," Vert assured the older man. The corners of Nexus' mouth twitched upwards a few times as if he were trying to smile. The blonde suddenly realized just how old the broken man looked. The almost haunted look his face now had made it hard to look at him, and it was now obvious that Nexus had been keeping everything bottled up since his daughter had been taken.

"What are those marks on your neck?" Zoom asked. He'd been the first to notice.

"I don't really remember," Nexus informed him. The rest of the team took a closer look.

"Looks like...Lipstick?" Agura questioned, giving the older man a look.

"Oh shut up," he mumbled, his face reddening slightly.

"Now about the fine..." Sheriff Johnson growled, scribbling on a piece of paper. The group looked at each other, realizing the sheriff's back was turned. When Sheriff Johnson looked up again, there was no one left in the station. He blinked a few times. "WHEELER!"

* * *

"I'm fine," Nexus protested once they got back to the base. He was trying to pretend like that had never happened, but the Battle Force 5 wasn't having any of it. Sherman slung him over one shoulder and carried him to the rec room, setting him down on the couch. Zoom showed up with a blanket while Agura had a pillow.

"You should rest," Sherman said. Nexus pouted.

"I told you I'm fine," he said, grouchily. He continued to complain as Zoom and Sherman actually had to force him to lie down. Zoom threw the blanket on top of the older man.

"Rest already," Agura, Zoom and Sherman said. "You'll be in a much better mood if you do."

"I'm in a good mood already, so just let me up!" Nexus barked.

"Yeah, that really sounds like you're in a good mood," Agura replied, rolling her eyes. Realizing he wasn't going to win this fight, Nexus rolled over.

"I'll fall asleep quicker if you leave me alone," he muttered.

"Have a good sleep," Zoom called before him, Sherman and Agura left the room. Nexus tried to stay awake, but his eyes shut and he was out like a light a couple of minutes later.

* * *

The bat was already awake when Spinner woke up. He yawned before sitting up. The bat watched him, completely content.

"Sp'nah," it gurgled. Its mood didn't seem to darken this time.

"Morning," he replied. "Thanks for last night, by the way. I would have been toast if not for you," the older Cortez brother smiled in the Vandal's direction.

Suddenly the bat jumped at him. Spinner squealed as he was knocked over onto the rock. He laughed as the bat started licking his face. He was quite shocked when the bat turned bright yellow. Then everything clicked.

"Octavia!" he shouted, staring at her. She nodded vigorously. Thinking about all the clues he'd picked up on, Spinner slapped himself in the forehead.

"I'm so stupid! There were a lot of clues! How could I not know it was you!" he exclaimed before throwing his arms around Octavia's neck. Octavia just kept trying to lick his face happily, grinning as much as her bat face would allow.

"Sp'nah!" she shouted. Spinner laughed ecstatically.

"You were just trying to say my name the whole time...I'm so dumb not to have realized that," he said, not letting go of Octavia.

"Lao ah," she replied. Spinner thought for a moment.

"That means 'Love ya', doesn't it?" he asked, and Octavia nodded. "If you weren't so furry, I'd kiss you," he said, pulling back. She faked an offended expression. The older Cortez brother stuck his tongue out at her playfully. She stuck her tongue out back at him.

"Maybe we should try to work on getting home. I don't know what the Vandals did to you to turn you into one of them, but maybe Sage can turn you back to normal," Spinner said after some time. Octavia nodded, crouching down. Spinner realized she was hinting for him to get on her back, so he climbed on and slid himself up to be able to wrap his arms tightly around her neck. Then the bat Vandal pushed off the rock into the air. Spinner soon buried his face in her fur. He didn't care where she was taking him to; the only thing that mattered was that he found her, though she'd been with him the whole time. He wanted to laugh at himself for being afraid of her before.

A few hours later, Octavia managed to fly back to the area where the two had last seen the Battle Force 5 and the Anti-Battle Force 5. She perched on a tall rock formation. Spinner slid off her back.

"So should we just wait here to see if those guys come looking for me?" Spinner wondered. "They've got the battle key so we probably won't have to wait too long," he added. Octavia nodded once before perking up, hearing something. Before the older Cortez brother could say a word, she grabbed him and flew off again. After a few minutes, she landed again.

What Octavia had heard was the Battle Force 5 opening the portal via the battle key. Spinner grinned. "Perfect!" he exclaimed. "I'm glad you have such good hearing as a bat."

"Hey Vert, I'm already picking something up on the radar," Agura said over the com link.

"Well that was fast," Vert answered.

"Guys look up there!" Zoom exclaimed, pointing up at a rock formation. The rest of the team looked up and saw Spinner waving his arm above his head wildly.

"Spinner!" Sherman shouted, overjoyed. His expression darkened a minute after as he noticed the bat stick her head out beside Spinner's. The younger Cortez brother growled as his big brother disappeared from view. The team frowned as the bat flew down with Spinner on her back. Once they were on the ground, the older Cortez brother slid off, still grinning widely. Almost immediately Stanford fired at the bat, who flew up into the air with an alarmed screech.

"Guys, wait!" Spinner shouted. "Don't hurt her!"

"You're batty Spinner," Zoom told him. "It flew off with you!"

"She saved me, and she flew off with me because she didn't want to be by herself!" the older Cortez brother shot back. Sherman drove over to his brother and Spinner climbed into the Buster Tank. Agura and Stanford were trying to knock Octavia out of the air, though she was dodging their attempts. Spinner was afraid of what would happen when she exhausted her energy. "Guys come on! Stop it!" he yelled through the com link.

"I don't understand why you care so much, big bro," Sherman said, looking at his brother with an odd look.

"I care because that's Octavia!" Spinner screamed loudly.

"What?" the rest of the team shouted back, their vehicles screeching to a halt. Stanford's thumb slipped then, him being shocked by the news. The fired blast collided roughly with Octavia, and she hit the ground hard. Spinner felt his heart leap into his throat. His head spun a little and he felt sick.

"She has to be okay..." Spinner whimpered. Sherman drove the Buster Tank over, and his big brother got out as fast as he could. He knelt down beside her, afraid to touch her. Slowly he reached a shaking hand out to touch the unmoving Vandal. He shook her lightly, but she didn't respond. The rest of the team hopped out of their vehicles but stood back. Stanford's hands balled into fists at his side. Zoom looked to the side, Agura fidgeted awkwardly and Vert stared at the ground. Sherman closed his eyes.

"Big bro..." he murmured.

"This...isn't...real," Spinner whispered hoarsely. He remembered the jaguar from the previous night and his eyes filled with tears. "This is a nightmare," he mumbled, his throat tightening.

Octavia twitched a little. After a few twitches, she pushed herself up awkwardly. Spinner grabbed her, helping her upright. He hugged her tightly.

"Oh thank god," he murmured quietly. The rest of the Battle Force 5 looked similarly relieved that she was fine. Octavia just sat there, looking at the team pleasantly despite the fact that Stanford had just shot her out of the sky. Stanford noted that she didn't seem to be mad at him. When Spinner released Octavia though, he whirled around to Stanford. The royal redhead gulped audibly.

"I was screaming for you to stop!" the older Cortez brother shouted.

"You...You scream about a lot of things, mate," Stanford replied, trying to joke it off.

"I guess I do, actually, now that I think about...HEY! I'm serious, Stanford! What if she wasn't okay?" Spinner asked, snapping out of his slight distraction.

"Well I wouldn't have fired if you'd just told us that it was Octavia a little faster," the Brit grumbled. Spinner sighed once before turning back to his now-Vandal girlfriend.

"I'm just glad she's okay! Now we can take her home and see if Sage can turn her back!" he exclaimed happily. "Then we can go back to dropping water balloons on people, especially her dad!"

Octavia snickered at that, and nodded vigorously.

"Well let's get out of here, before..." Vert said, trailing off.

"Look, it's the stupid goody-goodies!" Anti-Vert called out as the Anti Battle Force 5 drove up. The normal Battle Force 5 groaned as they quickly jumped into their vehicles. Spinner took one last worried look at Octavia, but she was flapping up high into the air. He sighed in relief before turning to concentrate.

Through the fight, one of the Stanfords managed to hit the rock formation Octavia was resting on. She flew up into the air with a squawk. She hovered for a bit, getting slightly dizzy about the two of each vehicle thing. She ended up resting on a different rock formation and there she stayed for the rest of the fight. The battle force 5 made quick work of their anti-selves. Octavia glided down to land on the top of the Buster Tank gently, smiling as much as her bat face would allow. Inside the tank, Spinner smiled, knowing she was on the roof.

"Pfft, lovebirds," Stanford remarked, rolling his eyes. Octavia leapt off the top of the tank, diving at the Reverb's windshield. She hissed as she dove, pulling up just before colliding with the car. Stanford threw himself across the passenger seat inside the Reverb with a short yet loud scream. The bat chuckled as she winged her way back to her perch. The battle force 5 laughed while Stanford righted himself.

"Whether she's a human or an animal, I hate her," he grumbled.

"Be nice Stanford," Vert told him.

"Let's hurry up and get home, so Sage can turn Octavia back to normal!" Spinner shouted excitedly, causing Sherman to cover his ears for a moment.

"Big bro, if you don't calm down you're gonna wet yourself," the younger Cortez told his brother. Spinner just threw his hands up.

"I'm just so excited, Sherm! She's back, she's back!" he yelped. The rest of the team laughed a bit, before Vert opened the portal with the battle key and they drove through it, Octavia flying behind them. Spinner squirmed in his seat excitedly, unable to keep still.

"You're too excited, bro," Sherman said, though he was smiling as he said it.

"Nah, you just don't understand!"

"Yeah, she's back in one...very batty...piece, but is that any reason to squirm that much?"

"Err, that's not the only reason I'm squirming, Sherm...In all my excitement, my bladder kinda...Let go," Spinner admitted sheepishly. Sherman's eyes widened as the scent assaulted his nostrils, and then he slapped one hand over his face.

"Spinner, I TOLD you that was going to happen!"

* * *

**Another chapter complete :D Yeah, the people who guessed Nexus was the drunk driver was right; for the person who guessed Zoom, I'm just wondering if you either missed reading Colourful Feelings (no shame in that) because that's where it says Nexus drives a motorcycle, or if you just forgot. Doesn't matter to me one way or another...**

**Spinner, this is why you go to the bathroom BEFORE going into a battlezone! XD**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, so I'm back! Heh, sorry, got hit by Writer's Block. But I've got ideas now, so really it was making myself write. Didn't mean to take so long. Enjoy! :D**

* * *

"This...Is...My daughter?" Nexus questioned, unbelieving. He sat staring at Octavia, unable to believe that this large bat was her.

"Yeah, it's her!" Spinner exclaimed. He had to change as soon as they got back, but now he was sitting with the others while trying to make Nexus understand.

"It can't be," he grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Those idiot Vandals aren't smart enough to pull something like this off."

"While I agree that they're idiots, they did it!" Spinner argued. Nexus ignored him, not accepting what he was being told. "I know you're a difficult guy, but stop being difficult!" the older Cortez whined. Sherman just shook his head.

"Dude, if you know he's really stubborn, why are you wasting your energy arguing with him? Just get Sage to run a DNA test and show him it's Octavia with the results," Zoom reasoned. Spinner's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Great idea, Zoom!" he shouted, running off. "Sage!"

"So you want me to run a DNA test?" Sage asked, after Spinner had explained why he'd been looking for her. He nodded eagerly. "Alright," she agreed. "Just bring her to the infirmary," the sentient added. The older Cortez brother darted off again. Sage smiled and shook her head. "He has so much energy."

Later on, the battle force 5 minus Stanford stood in the infirmary. Spinner was the only one standing just beside Octavia; the others were there to make sure nothing went wrong. Octavia looked worried.

"C'mon, you're gonna be okay. This is to prove it's really you to your dad, remember? Besides, it's just going to be a tiny little pinch..." Spinner trailed off when the look on the bat's face changed from worried to mildly horrified. "Hey, you knew it was gonna be a needle!" he exclaimed. Octavia looked at him, trying her best to look really cute.

"Don't look at me like that..." he whined. "I'm gonna be right here next to ya, so you don't have anything to worry about!" Spinner hugged the bat, and she wrapped a wing around him. "Besides, Sage might be able to find a way to change you back from this DNA test, and I know how much you wanna be human again." Octavia's eyes shone while thoughts of being human again swam through her mind. Spraying her father with a water gun; playing video games with Spinner and losing; being able to kiss Spinner. She looked at Spinner and nodded vigorously, more prepared for the needle.

Her newfound bravery, however, only lasted until she actually _saw_ the needle. When Sage approached with it, light glinting off the tip, Octavia freaked out. Her wings flailed wildly, knocking Spinner to the floor. The rest of the battle force 5 moved towards her, but were knocked back as well. She went straight out the door of the infirmary.

"Well that was...Lovely," Vert groaned, sitting up. Zoom rubbed his head and Agura got to her feet. Sherman helped Spinner up, as he tried to catch his breath. The wind had gotten knocked out of him when he hit the floor.

"We gotta...Gotta go get her back," Spinner wheezed.

"Preferably before she gets outside...If anyone sees a giant bat, they're going to freak," Sherman commented. The battle force 5 exchanged glances, thinking about what would happen if the people of Handler's Corners actually caught sight of Octavia at this moment. They'd think it was an alien invasion or something, and that would not be good. The group rushed out of the infirmary as fast as they could. It wasn't really hard to follow Octavia's route; there'd be scratches on the walls or something would be knocked over. Eventually they made it out to the garage.

They noticed that the main door to the garage was still closed. That was good. Spinner looked around, trying to spot Octavia. A little screech above their heads made them all look up. Hanging from one of the metal beams supporting the roof was the bat they were looking for. She stared down at them.

"C'mon down from there," Spinner tried, but Octavia shook her head. "Look, you know we're not going to hurt you," he added. Still Octavia gave no signs that she intended to move. The older Cortez brother sighed. Agura smiled as she got an idea. She left the guys standing there, trying to coax the bat down.

"She's way too scared to come down," Zoom muttered. Just then, Nexus entered the garage.

"What are you doing?" he wondered, walking over to them.

"We're trying to get your daughter down from the roof," Vert explained, pointing upwards.

"I don't believe she's my daughter...Why is she up there, anyway?"

"Sage was going to take a DNA sample for a test, but when she saw the needle, she—"Vert explained, getting cut off.

"She went _batty_!" Spinner exclaimed, not missing an opportunity to pull out a pun. The others groaned.

"Big bro this is no time to be joking around," Sherman said. "Unless you've got a _good_ joke."

"That was good!"

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes it was!"

"No it really wasn't!"

"She's afraid of needles? Okay, I'll believe that's Octavia now," Nexus interrupted, not letting the argument go on any longer. He was looking up at the bat.

"You believe it's her now? Why?" Zoom asked.

"The last time she got a needle was when she was six years old. I was trying to give it to her, but I got a boot in the head for my troubles. Actually, it gave me a concussion," Nexus explained. "Then she was crying because she kicked me, and I gave her the needle."

"Wow," was all the others could say. Just then, Agura returned. She carried a white cardboard box that contained half a pizza. As she had thought, the guys reached for the slices. Agura smacked all their hands away.

"This isn't for you," she growled lightly. Agura stepped forward a bit before putting the box on the floor and completely opening it. Then she stepped back, watching to see if her idea would work.

Octavia immediately dropped from the beam. She spread her wings to slow her fall, and she glided down to the floor. Once she landed she dug into the pizza. Agura smirked as the guys just watched Octavia eat the pizza ravenously. In a few minutes, the bat was finished the pizza and was licking the inside of the box, wanting more. She looked at Spinner with wide eyes.

"You can have more _after_ you get the needle," he told her. She pouted; she had thought they wouldn't pester her with this needle business again. "You need to get the needle so we can turn you back to normal," he added. "Or did you forget that part?" the bat simply answered by sticking out her tongue. Spinner laughed a bit before taking Octavia back to the infirmary. Much to her dismay, Spinner, Sherman and Nexus actually held onto her this round. Because of their efforts, Sage was able to give Octavia the needle with minimal amount of flailing.

* * *

A little later, Nexus had a bag of frozen peas pressed to the left side of his face. His daughter had still managed to smack him pretty hard upside the head. It was beginning to bruise and it was sore. Octavia was huddled next to Spinner as they watched TV. She looked a little upset, but that wasn't because of what they were watching.

"I already told you it's okay," Nexus assured his daughter when he caught her looking at him for the umpteenth time. "It doesn't hurt that much."

"Hey Nexus...Does your face hurt?" Zoom asked a while later still. Nexus just looked at him.

"She sent you to ask, didn't she?"

"Yes..." Zoom admitted. "But she's worried!"

"Like I already truthfully told her, it doesn't hurt that much!"

A few hours later, Sage found everyone watching TV.

"I have determined how to change Octavia back," she announced. Spinner and Nexus jumped up at the same moment, colliding and both males fell over.

"You have?" Spinner asked excitedly, jumping up again. Sage nodded as Octavia squawked loudly.

"I've also found why she cannot currently speak...When the Vandals turned her into the bat, her vocal chords were damaged. They appear to be damaged beyond repair," Sage explained. Spinner and Nexus stared at the Sentient at disbelief.

"So...She'll never be able to talk again?" Spinner asked, his throat tightening. Octavia nuzzled his cheek in comfort.

"It would seem that way, except..." Sage trailed off.

"Except?" Nexus questioned hopefully.

"I've been doing a bit of research, and it just so happens that there is a liquid that would heal her vocal chords completely. However, it's location is the Sark homeworld."

"Wait wait, there's a LIQUID on the Sark homeworld? That's sort of...You know, ironic," Zoom shrugged.

"Indeed. Moving on, it should be held in a translucent diamond-shaped vial," Sage replied, bringing up a projection of the vial. It was blue-tinted glass, with a dark red liquid inside. Octavia stared at it with wide eyes. "It is likely that Zemerik has such an object heavily guarded."

"Why would Zemerik have something like that heavily guarded? I mean, they're robots..." Zoom commented.

"He would probably anticipate that it could be useful to organic beings," Sage answered. Nexus looked at the projection before shrugging.

"Whatever, I'd go through Hell and back if it meant my daughter could talk again," he said before hugging his bat daughter.

"Yeah, same here," Spinner chirped, receiving a weird look from Nexus.

"Can't I have just ONE father-daughter moment without you butting in? Sheesh!" the bearded man growled, causing everyone else to laugh. "Hey, I didn't say anything funny! Stop laughing! Stop it!"

* * *

The Battle Force 5 had just gotten onto the Sark homeworld from the battlezone. Octavia had wanted to go too, but they decided that having her fly into a stormshock might not be that safe. Nexus stayed with her to cheer her up, and the fact that he could spend some time with her without Spinner didn't hurt either.

"So what we're looking for is heavily guarded. I'd bet that'd be with Zemerik himself," Vert said through the com-link, and the rest of the team agreed.

"Let's go kick his metal butt already!" Spinner exclaimed, excited. "The faster we can get Octavia back to normal and talking, the better!"

"Hold on big bro, we can't just rush in there," Sherman pointed out.

"We've got a plan, right? We didn't show up here without a plan, did we?" Spinner panicked.

"Don't worry, Spin. We've got a plan, and Octavia will be her usual self before you can say 'antidisestablishmentarianism'," Vert chuckled.

"Antidi...Antidisestab...Vert, I don't think I can even SAY that," the older Cortez announced, after a few attempts.

"...Figure of speech, Spinner. We'll get her back to normal as fast as we can," the blonde shook his head.

"Then let's go kick Zemerik's robotic butt!" Spinner exclaimed.

* * *

**...Alright, so I don't see Vert just pulling Antidisestablishmentarianism out of his vocabulary. I was just looking for a hard-to-pronounce word...LOL I can't say it either XD So not much to say, just...Review and enjoy! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Long period between updates, but an update for Trigger meant an update here too! Enjoy :D**

* * *

The Battle Force 5 drove into the centre of the Sark homeworld. Careful to avoid attracting any attention from scouts, Vert had turned down the idea of a sound map from Stanford. So they were going with the knowledge they had obtained from past visits.

They split up, Spinner, Sherman and Zoom going to the left, Agura and Stanford going to the right, and Vert headed basically straight.

"So how do we even find this thing?" Stanford asked over the com-link.

"We'll probably find either somewhere that looks like it's got a lot of security, or it'll be with Zemerik. My best guess...Zemerik has it," Vert answered.

"This sounds near suicidal, now that I think about it," the redhead commented.

"Well we have to try! If it were Grace that was going to be mute without it, you'd give it all you've got!" Spinner shot.

"Calm down Spin, we'll get it," Sherman told him. Spinner sighed.

"It's just...Gonna be weird if she can't talk when I give her the...You know, Sherm," the older Cortez shrugged. Sherman nodded, understanding.

"When you give her what?" Agura piped up, a little curious. Spinner rubbed the back of his neck.

"Guys, is this the time for this?" Vert questioned.

"Yeah Agura, now's not the time!" Spinner chirped, relieved that Vert got them back on track.

"Alright, but you better tell me later Spinner," Agura replied, not unkindly.

"Sure, later," the older Cortez shrugged it off. "Much much later," he muttered under his breath so they couldn't hear it over the com-link. Sherman gave his big brother a smirk that seemed to say _looks like your big secret is almost out of the bag_. Spinner rolled his eyes and Sherman went back to concentrating on driving.

Sometime later, the Battle Force 5 had destroyed several Sark. There was no sign of Zug or Zemerik unfortunately, and it was frustrating.

"Can we go home yet? This is a waste of time," Stanford grumbled.

"We have to find that vial, Stanford!" Spinner growled.

"Come on guys, let's not get at each other's throats over this. Maybe we should consider retreating for now, and coming back later," Vert reasoned.

"So you think it's a waste of time too," Spinner spat.

"No Spinner, it's just we've been here who knows how long, and we haven't found a single clue regarding its whereabouts. I'm just suggesting that maybe we should return to the Hub and rest and refuel, then come back," the blonde reasoned.

"It sounds like a good idea," Agura said slowly, afraid Spinner might decide to bite her head off for voting to leave. "We're not making much progress."

"We just have to keep looking, that's all! We'll find it, I know we will!" Spinner shouted. He slapped the arm of his seat in irritation.

"Spinner, you're in such a mood that it might be best to go home," Sherman said gently.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Let's..." the older Cortez trailed off when he spotted a familiar vehicle. "Guys, look! Zug!" he shouted excitedly, nearly jumping out of his seat as he pointed. Sherman followed the Sark, and Zoom followed the Buster Tank. Agura, Stanford and Vert all headed off in their direction. They were all a bit eager after finding nothing for the past while.

Zug led them a long ways, turning around corners and dodging their attempts to attack him. It seemed suspicious, but they weren't about to lose their only lead.

Zug eventually led them to Zemerik. The robot smirked as best he could when he saw them, and Vert immediately got a sinking feeling about the situation.

"There you are, organics. I thought maybe you weren't going to show," he said.

"Just give us the vial Zemerik," Vert said sternly, frowning.

"I have no 'vial' to be able to give you," the robot sneered.

"We know you've got it!" Spinner snapped. Zemerik looked at the Buster Tank curiously.

"So it means something to you then," he grinned evilly as he spoke.

"So you do have it! Hand it over!" the older Cortez brother growled out. The robot chuckled lightly, causing Vert to frown more.

"Stupid organic, I've already told you I do not have it."

"You're lying!"

"Spinner, relax. I'll handle it," Vert warned, worried that Spinner might try to do something they'd all regret. Spinner took a few deep breathes to calm himself.

"Alright Vert," he answered, sitting back and closing his eyes. They needed to get that vial. Spinner desperately wanted to be able to hear Octavia's voice again. He became so lost in thought he didn't take notice of the conversation between Vert and Zemerik.

"Why did you shut that organic up? I know he can be...Quite irritating, but at this time he was slightly amusing me," Zemerik questioned.

"You know why. Now where's that vial Zemerik? It's not important for the Sark, so why do you need it?" Vert glared at the robot.

"Ah, but Vert, you're wrong. You're so, so wrong. It IS useful for the Sark...As for where it is, hmm...I'm certain you'll discover the answer to _that_ in due time," the robot smirked, as if he had won.

"Why are you playing mind games? This isn't how you usually operate," the blonde asked, the sinking feeling worsening.

"How can it be useful to the Sark?" Sherman piped up, dreadfully curious.

"I'm amused by your questions," Zemerik stated, "and you will see how it can be useful to the Sark in a mere moment." The robot smirked. Half a second later, the sound of metal scraping against metal filled the Battle Force 5's ears. They slapped their hands to their ears as it got to a painful pitch.

"What's that unholy noise?" Stanford shouted above it. Zemerik began to laugh as the source of the noise dropped into visibility, looks of shock and dismay registering on the Battle Force 5's faces.

* * *

Nexus was out picking up a pizza. Octavia had been hungry and wanted one, and out he had gone. He was just paying for it when he heard screams outside the diner. He stepped out quickly and saw what was causing the screaming, though he didn't want to register it.

A large bat was flying about, high off the ground. Unfortunately it wasn't high enough to not be recognized as a giant bat. A few pedestrians ran into the nearest buildings for cover. Nexus stood staring, slack jawed. He shook his head a moment later, snapping out of it. He followed the bat, avoiding the people running away from it. What was she doing? She sent him out for pizza just to get out of the Hub and garage. Luckily for Nexus, Octavia didn't seem to notice him.

"Why are you following that thing?" a frightened person questioned Nexus anxiously. They glanced up at the bat nervously. "Run!"

"I'm just..." Nexus trailed off as Octavia looked back. Her eyes shot wide open as she spotted her father and in seconds she was headed back the way she came. Nexus watched her go calmly, and the person in front of him fainted. He blinked curiously at the fainted person, shrugged and went back to get his bike.

He got back to the garage soon enough, going down to the Hub. Sage spotted him and went the other way.

"I take it you know she got out?"

"Yes. I realized a moment too late what she was doing, and I couldn't really do much once she got above ground. I apologize," Sage said quietly.

"Nah, it's alright. She shouldn't of snuck out," Nexus shrugged, and walked off to find his daughter. As he searched, he got the feeling she might be on the ceiling. "Too bad I can't find Octavia," he shrugged, playing it up. "I guess I'll just have to eat that pizza alone."

In seconds, Octavia dropped from the ceiling and winged her way to the floor. She looked at Nexus guiltily, and tried her best to give him the cutest expression she could manage.

"That won't work," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "Why on Earth would you go outside? The people in town probably think there's going to be an alien invasion. Zeke thinks that every _other_ day when _nothing_ happens! What would Spinner say?" he finished. Octavia covered her eyes and whimpered a little. Nexus sighed.

"Let's go get you something to eat, at least," he offered, escorting his bat-daughter to the kitchen.

* * *

**DELIBERATE CLIFFHANGER RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE! Shorter chapter than usual, but I couldn't think of anything to add to Nexus and Octavia's situation. And its content that matters anyway, not chapter length right? Anyway...What's Spinner's big secret? What does Zemerik have that the Battle Force 5 are shocked/slightly afraid of? And how will things go on Earth, what with Octavia getting loose? Find out later! ...Seriously, only one of these things are answered in the next chapter. Bwahahaha! Don't forget to review!**


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